Breeding..Its not all puppy cuddles

The work we put into giving our puppies the best possible start doesn’t begin at birth, it begins long before that. Healthy, confident, well-balanced puppies with the right temperaments for family life start with their parents, their genetics, and the choices we make as breeders. Selecting the right dogs isn’t just a matter of liking the look of them. It takes years of research, health testing, planning, studying bloodlines, understanding temperament inheritance, and being brutally honest about what should and shouldn’t be bred from. We put in that work because the foundations you lay before conception are every bit as important as what you do after the pups arrive.

Part of our licensing procedure includes a section called Enrichment & Enhancement, and it’s something we take very seriously. We must demonstrate how we keep every adult dog mentally stimulated, physically fit, emotionally stable, and able to live full, happy lives. Our breeding dogs live as part of the family, receive proper training, structure and routine and have outlets for their natural behaviours. When dogs are happy, confident, healthy and well-stimulated, they don’t just behave better they carry those advantages forward at a biological level.

Modern science calls this epigenetics. In simple terms, it means the experiences, stress levels, environment and emotional wellbeing of the parents can influence how certain genes are expressed in their offspring. So when we say that giving our puppies the best start begins with their mum and dad, we mean it literally. Well-supported, well-adjusted parents are more likely to produce well-adjusted puppies and we make sure every one of our breeding dogs has exactly that.

Because for us, breeding isn’t about producing “cute litters.” It’s about producing strong, healthy, emotionally stable dogs who are set up to thrive from day one and that starts long before their paws ever touch the ground.

In our view, a truly healthy puppy has two equally important sides: their mental health and their physical health. You can’t separate the two they develop together, influence one another, and shape the dog your puppy will eventually become.

Mental health begins long before a pup opens their eyes. As we’ve said above, it starts with the parents: their genetics, their temperament, their emotional stability, and the environment we create for them. It continues through the structured development we put in place from the moment the litter is born the gentle exposures, the confidence-building, the frustration tolerance, the problem-solving, the safe challenges and, frankly, the ridiculous amount of time we spend sleeping on sofas making sure mum and puppies are relaxed, secure and stress-free. But once your puppy steps into your home, their mental development becomes a joint project. Everything you do, the routines you set, the boundaries you establish, the training you commit to will continue the work we’ve started.

The other side of the equation is physical health. That begins with selecting parents who are genetically sound and thoroughly health tested. Every breed has its vulnerabilities, and part of being an ethical breeder is facing that head-on. Depending on the breed, this may include eye examinations, hip and elbow scoring, or specific DNA tests. We ensure that all our dogs are fully health tested. By doing this work upfront, we drastically reduce the risk of preventable, inherited problems being passed to future puppies.

Physical health also depends on what goes into the dog. Nutrition matters. A lot. We feed and raise our dogs on a high-quality raw diet because we believe based on experience, science, and common sense that dogs thrive on fresh, species-appropriate food rather than ultra-processed alternatives. If you’re new to raw feeding or unsure about how it works, we’re always happy to walk you through the benefits and the practicalities.

Between strong genetics, proper care of the parents, structured mental development, and high-quality nutrition, we aim to give every puppy the absolute best foundation, physically, mentally, and emotionally, before they even take their first steps into your home.

Although the legal age for puppies to leave for their new homes is 8 weeks, we never let a puppy go before 11 weeks of age. Those extra few weeks make an extraordinary difference, far more than most people realise. At that stage of life, three weeks represents such a massive shift in everything the puppy has experienced and will experience. When you look at it through that lens, it becomes obvious why we give them the extra time.

Between weeks 8 and 11, a puppy’s brain is going through a huge developmental surge. Their confidence, problem-solving ability, social skills, resilience, and capacity to cope all leap forward. This is when they begin to practise real dog-to-dog communication within the litter, learn boundaries, experiment with independence, build emotional regulation, and start understanding the world with a much more mature mind. In short, they become puppies who think before they panic, try before they avoid, and settle more easily into a new home.

That additional time also gives us the opportunity to continue structured socialisation, reinforce good habits, and prepare each pup as an individual, not just “one of the litter.” By the time they leave, they’re bolder, more adaptable, more confident, and far better equipped to bond successfully with their new families.

On the practical side, waiting until 11 weeks allows us to complete their full primary vaccination course and carry out an additional veterinary health check, giving you the reassurance that your puppy is leaving us in excellent condition physically, mentally and emotionally.

For us, keeping puppies an extra three weeks isn’t an inconvenience; it’s an investment in their future. And the difference it makes lasts a lifetime.

When it comes to choosing your puppy we give the process the time it truly deserves. This isn’t a five-minute, “point at the one you like” moment. It often takes several hours in our comfortable viewing room, where you can relax, meet the puppies properly, and talk through everything with us. This is where we begin helping you understand not only which puppy is right for you, but why matching temperament, lifestyle, expectations and energy levels so you and your pup start off correctly aligned.

During this time we’ll walk you through what the first weeks at home should look like: how to build a simple, effective communication system with your puppy, how to manage crate training and early sleep routines, how to set up toilet-training for success, and how to introduce boundaries in a way that supports confidence and learning. We encourage you to come armed with a list of questions grooming, healthcare, training, nutrition, raw feeding, behaviour, enrichment, crate size, harnesses, toys, socialisation… nothing is off-limits. Our conversations with new owners often wander far and wide because raising a great dog is a whole-life project, not a checklist.

And once your puppy goes home, the support absolutely does not stop. We are always just a phone call away, whether you need reassurance, advice, troubleshooting, or simply want to share a milestone. You’re also welcome to visit in the future, many of our puppy owners do, and it’s always a pleasure to see the dogs we’ve brought into the world growing, thriving and becoming part of someone’s life story.

From picking your puppy to supporting you through all the ups and downs that follow, we’re with you every step of the way.